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Deeplinks Blog

Deeplinks Blog

The most remarkable testimony at last week's DMCRA hearings was that of former Congressman Allan Swift. Swift was testifying as a private citizen, as a "home recordist." Basically, he's been making "mix tapes" for 54 years: In that time, I have given friends many tapes, cassettes and now...

May 2004
Background
Nearly one-third of American voters – over 50 million people – live in districts that will use electronic voting terminals to elect the next president.1 However, widespread reports of voting terminal failures,2 and growing concern about the security3 of these machines, are fueling fierce debate over...

A trio of responses to the DMCRA hearing on Wednesday: Seth Finkelstein: It would great if everyone could just take a loyalty oath at the start and thus get beyond the endless querying about whether they believe in some sort of heretical radicalism. Something like: "I am not...

Donation to Support Patent-Busting Project San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the leading civil liberties organization working to defend freedom in the digital world, has received a $50,000 grant from The Parker Family Foundation of Lexington, Massachusetts, for EFF's Patent-Busting Project. “We are concerned about the growing number...

After Daylong Debate, the Future of H.R. 107 Looks Bright Washington, D.C. - Today at 10:00 AM., the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Trade, Commerce and Consumer Protection held a hearing on H.R. 107, also known as the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act (DMCRA). Introduced by Rep. Rick Boucher...

As of today, DMCA reform has a very real chance of passing the U.S. Congress. The biggest ray of hope for those of us who care about fair use came not from what happened at the hearing itself, but rather, at a lunch session that took place during a recess...

The World Intellectual Property Organization of the United Nations (WIPO) has accredited EFF to attend and observe the 11th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights in Geneva on June 7-10, 2004. The committee meeting will discuss the proposed Broadcasting Treaty, which would extend the scope...

Here in DC, the rumor is that tomorrow's hearing on the DMCRA may become an all-day affair, with as many as 13 witnesses on three consecutive panels. In addition, it appears that there was a last-minute, behind-the-scenes, ultimately unsuccessful effort by the motion picture industry lobby to get 321...

In cyber-literate circles, it's common knowledge that the DMCA has been a dismal legislative failure. For years now, every new DMCA lawsuit trumps the last for absurdity. And it sure hasn't made any perceptible dent on "digital piracy." As detailed in our "Unintended Consequences" report, it's been consumers, researchers...

EFF this week filed comments (PDF) in the FCC's "Cognitive Radio" proceeding (ET Docket No. 03108) asking the Commission to answer empirically the question of what spectrum is actually in use (as opposed to simply allocated to a licensee), and to uphold its duty under the First Amendment by...

Fordham law professor Sonia Katyal has an article up @ the SSRN Electronic Library that brings to mind a question I asked some months ago over @ Copyfight: Why do we tolerate in the name of copyright protection what we only unwillingly tolerate in the name of...

As Kim Weatherallnotes, Australia has been undergoing two separate but not entirely equal deliberations over its national copyright law at roughly the same time: a review of the 2000 Digital Agenda Act, and negotiations with the U.S. over a free-trade agreement (FTA) that predictably exports...

Acting to ensure the integrity of California's November elections, California Secrectary of State Kevin Shelley on Friday announced the adoption of a new state policy making it so that all California voters will have the option of recording their votes on paper. In addition, the state has decertified Diebold's infamous...